1 Samuel 8:5

1 Samuel 8:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
• New International Version (NIV)They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations."
• New King James Version (NKJV)and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

Context of 1 Samuel 8:5

3But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice. 4Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.” 6Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance. 7“Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer.

1 Samuel 8:5 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֗יו הִנֵּה֙ אַתָּ֣ה זָקַ֔נְתָּ וּבָנֶ֕יךָ לֹ֥א הָלְכ֖וּ בִּדְרָכֶ֑יךָ עַתָּ֗ה שִֽׂימָה־לָּ֥נוּ מֶ֛לֶךְ לְשָׁפְטֵ֖נוּ כְּכָל־הַגּוֹיִֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto him, Behold, thou art oldזָקֵןzâqên · be oldH2204
• and thy sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• walkהָלַךְhâlak · to go: walkH1980
• not in thy waysדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
• now makeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: appointH7760
• us a kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• to judgeשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
• us like all the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 8:5

• 1 Samuel 8:6Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance.
• 1 Samuel 12:17You know that it does not rain at this time of the year during the wheat harvest. I will ask the Lord to send thunder and rain today. Then you will realize how wicked you have been in asking the Lord for a king!”
• Numbers 23:9I see them from the cliff tops; I watch them from the hills. I see a people who live by themselves, set apart from other nations.
• Deuteronomy 17:14“You are about to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take it over and settle there, you may think, ‘We should select a king to rule over us like the other nations around us.’
• Hosea 13:10Now where is your king? Let him save you! Where are all the leaders of the land, the king and the officials you demanded of me?
• Acts 13:21Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 8:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Make us a king - Hitherto, from the time in which they were a people, the Israelites were under a theocracy, they had no other king but God. Now they desire to have a king like the other nations around them, who may be their general in battle; for this is the point at which they principally aim.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-9Verses 4-9 Samuel was displeased; he could patiently bear what reflected on himself, and his own family; but it displeased him when they said, Give us a king to judge us, because that reflected upon God. It drove him to his knees. When any thing disturbs us, it is our interest, as well as our duty, to show our trouble before God. Samuel is to tell them that they shall have a king. Not that God was pleased with their request, but as sometimes he opposes us…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways: Judges were usually local leaders. But kings, as national leaders, could unite the entire nation during crises (1 Samuel 8:20). However, a spiritual issue was behind the request for a king (1 Samuel 8:7–8). Other nations, like Egypt and Sumer, were ruled by kings for nearly 2,000 years before Samuel’s time.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-181Sa 8:1-18. Occasioned by the Ill- Government of Samuel's Sons, the Israelites Ask a King. 1-5. when Samuel was old--He was now about fifty-four years of age, having discharged the office of sole judge for twelve years. Unable, from growing infirmities, to prosecute his circuit journeys through the country, he at length confined his magisterial duties to Ramah and its neighborhood (1Sa 7:15), delegating to his sons as his deputies the administration of…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 8:5

• Abia
• Government
• Israel
• Judge
• Rulers
• Samuel

In the dictionaries

• King
• Manner
• Samuel
• Samuel, Books of
• Saul
• Sharpen
• Israel, History of
• Judah, Kingdom of
• Judges, Period of
• Samuel, Books of

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings